One of the winners of our 100th Issue recipe competition, interpretation officer Emma Booth (far left) impressed the Stylist panel with this alternative risotto, which makes a delightful main course.
Preparation time
10 minutes
Cooking time
45 minutes
Ingredients (serves 2)
- 2 whole heads of garlic, cloves separated, skin on
- 4 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
- 150g mixed mushrooms (enoki, shiitake, chanterelles or porcini), sliced
- 11/2 leeks finely chopped
- 200g pearl barley, rinsed
- 1 tsp picked fresh thyme, finely chopped
- 600ml vegetable stock
- 200ml boiling water
- 15g butter
- 25g Parmesan, grated
- 2 tbsps mascarpone
- Black pepper
- Micro leaf garlic chives to garnish
Method
Step 1: Cover the garlic cloves in a tablespoon of the olive oil and place in a shallow ovenproof dish. Bake for 25 minutes at 190˚C/gas 5, then leave to cool. Peel each clove and roughly chop.
Step 2: Using two tablespoons of oil, fry the mushrooms until golden, set aside.
Step 3: Using the same pan, heat the butter and the last of the oil and fry the leeks over a medium heat until soft and translucent. Add the pearl barley, thyme, cooked garlic, stock and water, and simmer for 20-30 minutes, until the barley is soft but still has a little bite in the centre. Add water if needed. Once cooked, stir in the mushrooms, Parmesan and mascarpone, season with black pepper and garnish with the garlic chives.